A week after we got home from Yosemite, the news broke about a handful of confirmed cases of hantavirus contracted by people who stayed in Curry Village. To date, two of these visitors have died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Apparently what they have in common is that they all stayed in the signature tent cabins back in June.
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| *NOT* a signature tent cabin! |
No one said anything to us when we arrived at the park or when we checked in. Most people were talking about the two boys who drowned in the Merced River a few days earlier. After the program one night, we did overhear another guest ask the speaker (a concessionaire employee, not a NPS ranger) about "people getting sick." She acknowledged that it was "rodent related," and said that it was being investigated, but never identified the cause. I didn't even cross my mind that it could have been hantavirus. EEK!
Hantavirus was a small concern for us a few years ago when we took a day trip out to Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands NP. But I didn't come across any warnings when I was planning this trip to Yosemite. Now there is more information posted on their website.
Both stories are so sad. Here is an op-ed piece from the Los Angeles Times, recounting recent tragedies within Yosemite and what could (or should) have been done to avoid them. Travel safely, friends!
"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike."
-- John Muir
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